Do you ever use an onion soup mix? I love how convenient those little packets are. Think Lipton Onion Soup Mix.

They are a super easy peasy way to add flavor to a recipe. What I don’t love is the added sugar. I have to be careful about the sugar I consume so I wanted to come up with an onion soup mix I could keep in my spice cabinet that didn’t include sugar. I also wanted a handy mix that had only ingredients I recognize and can pronounce.

Off to the kitchen to experiment. After playing around with some different recipes I came up with one that really does the job and does not include sugar. Or any yucky stuff like MSG.

This recipe is a little different than most you will find because this one includes turmeric. There are so many health benefits to incorporating this into your diet. My doc wants me to consume it for the anti-inflammatory benefits. This is a great mix to keep around that is easy, tasty, and healthy.

Photo credit: PositiveMed

So, let’s get to it!

How to Make the Onion Soup Mix:

This will take you all of five minutes. Maybe ten if your spices like to all fall out of the cabinet when you open the door. Not that this happens to me.

First, go grab a pint mason jar. I like to double the recipe and it fits perfectly.

2 teaspoons each of onion powder and turmeric. Optional: admire the beautiful deep color of that turmeric. Gorgeous.

1 teaspoon each of the salts: sea salt and celery salt

1/2 teaspoon pepper.

Now, the fun part:

Put the lid on the jar and shake, shake, shake it like a Polaroid picture. Secretly applaud yourself for getting in your cardio for the day.

Finally, bask in your culinary genius.

4 tablespoons of this baby just about equals a packet of the soup.

OptionalStep: spend half an hour on Pinterest searching “how to make labels for mason jars”. Get sucked in by all the pretty downloads. Ooohhh….aaahhhhh….. Debate with yourself about redoing all the stuff in your pantry with cute matching labels. Remind yourself that “ain’t nobody got time for this” and give up and just type something real quick in word while consoling yours that some day…some day… You will have matchy-matchy color coordinated labels and baskets in your pantry. And, it is so gonna rock!

How are you going to use this onion soup mix?

Finally. Even though I still have to go to work, there is just something about Friday that puts a spring in your step and a smile on your face.

TGIF Traditions

In our home we have some Friday traditions: donut Friday (me and the kids get donuts for breakfast)….and also mom-doesn’t-cook-dinner Friday. Ok, the last one is not so much tradition, but mom is pooped by Friday. 😊 Do you have any Friday traditions?

TGIF Fun

Fridays are for fun so I have collected a few of my Friday favs for you. Say that ten times fast. Ha!

I am from the Deep South, so…happy Friday ya’ll.

Who is feeling fabulous? Me, baby, me. Bring on the weekend! How adorable is this little diva?

Oh yes………Fri-nally!

If Friday where a person, I would totally be giving It hugs.

Seems like it took a long time to get here, huh?

Count me in!

More Fun?

Admit it…we all like to have fun on Friday. Want more? Check out my happy places. This is a growing list of some of the happiest places on the Internet. It includes things that are inspiring, heart-warming stories, and just good clean fun. Let me know if you have any places I should add.

Feeling stressed? Count me in. Rather than hold on to that stress I am choosing right now to let go. Just let it go.

Let Go

How Can I Let it Go?

Some people like to get their bodies moving…get a little exercise…to get the endorphins going. I sure wish that was my default stress reliever! My waist wishes it was, too! Ha! Rather than break a sweat, I usually defer to reading uplifting stories or watching something funny to get a mood boost. A nice warm bubble bath almost always helps.

How do you let go of the stress?

Check out my collection of Happy Places. I will keep updating the page as I find sources for inspiration, stress relief, and humor. Stick with me on this journey to create a life we can love.

Folks are usually about as happy as they make up their minds to be. Wow. That is a pretty powerful statement.

How happy are you going to make up your mind to be?

I know….easier said than done. But, that is the great part about being on this journey. We don’t have to get there today. There is no deadline to having this perfect life we fantasize about. Every day we try to work a little harder toward the person we want to be. Every day we get a little closer to the life we want to live. It starts with our thoughts…our perspective….our beliefs…how we chose to think and live and love.

Folks are usually about as happy…

Once upon a time I was going thru some rough stuff. We will leave it at that. I struggled with trying to see the light at the end of the tunnel. It was so, so hard. I just didn’t think I could stop all the sad thoughts. The mourning over the broken dreams.

Finally, I just grabbed on to a few techniques that I felt I had to implement right away. Survival skills, if you will. One of those is that I decided to plan my sad time. I would plan that during that limited amount of time every day, I would allow myself to wallow in the sadness and think all the horrible things I wanted. But, when it was over, I was not going to let my mind go to the sad place. My focus would be on the positive things, the happy things, the sweet precious dreams of the future. I would fill my mind with uplifting stories and read my Bible and watch funny shows.

People are just about as happy as they make up their minds to be. I just decided I was going to dwell on the happy as much as I could. I confess, it wasn’t a perfect plan. And, it didn’t happen over night. It took a lot of time, but, eventually, I was about as happy as I had made up my mind to be.

Guess what? I am still working on it.

Here is a collection of happy places on the internet that I am working on. Do you have any happy places to add?

More Inspiration for a Happy Life

Some days you just have to create your own sunshine. It is just that simple.

Stop waiting for your sunshine… Your happiness.

“I will be happy when I get that job.”

“I will be happy when I find the love of my life…when I get married…”

“I will be happy when we finally move into a bigger house.”

You CAN be happy right now. You CAN create that happiness all by yourself.

It is up to you. You are in charge of your happiness. No fairy godmother is going to come along and grant all your wishes. No Prince Charming is coming to “rescue” you. You have all the power within you to create your own happiness. You can create your own sunshine.

How are YOU going to create your own sunshine?

More Sunshine

Hello and welcome to my little corner of the world. This is my happy place to share all the things that bring me joy (books, music, decor, inspiring quotes, heartwarming stories, and day-to-day musings.). I am looking forward to all the fun and interesting things we will share on this journey.

From my heart to yours,

Jen

Hello and Welcome to 1 Happy Heart

Check out my list of happy places. Do you have a favorite happy place on the Internet?

Ward Foley

Ward Foley is such an inspiration. He is the author of “Thank My Lucky Scars”. After being subjected to so many tragedies in his life you would think he would be such a sad, bitter man. But no! This guy has such a beautiful soul and a charming outlook on life.